Town Manager Matthew Hanson presents the Select Board with an update on the Fy23 Administration Goals

Presentation also featured a discussion about grants that Town staff have applied for and the outcome.

Tyngsborough – At their meeting on January 9, 2023, the Tyngsborough Select Board received a presentation from Town Manager Matthew Hanson regarding the status of the FY23 Administration Goals. These are goals set by the Select Board & Town Manager at the start of each fiscal year. Periodically throughout the year, the Board asks the Town Manager to update them on the progress of those goals.

Mr. Hanson highlighted the substantial coordination that goes on between Town departments when working toward each specific goal. Of note, the following goals were reported as being complete:

1.       Work with Media Department to increase the use of PEG’s “Government” channel to update residents on important municipal issues. This involved expanding the number of public meetings that are recorded & broadcast live, bringing additional meeting spaces online, and adding informational videos to our lineup explaining common issues & current projects.

2.       Work with Town Moderator, Town Clerk, and Media Department to identify options to increase Town Meeting attendance and value to citizens. This was accomplished by increased publicity, video explainers about each warrant article, improvements to audio & visual components, and the commitment of the Town Clerk to double the number of check in staff to speed up check in.

3.       Oversee the finalization of the Public Safety Building Study Committee. The final report from this Committee was accepted by the Select Board at their meeting on December 12, 2022.

4.       Investigate the feasibility of establishing a Department of Public Works to increase efficiency across various Town departments. The Select Board held several meetings beginning in August 2022 with town departments and other boards/committees. On October 25, 2022, Town Meeting approved a warrant article authorizing the submission of a home-rule petition to the Legislature establishing a DPW. This will be submitted to the legislature in January of 2023. It will become effective once passed by the legislature and signed by the Governor.

5.       Finalize contract documents for the Bicentennial Field irrigation project to reduce or completely eliminate the Town’s dependency on municipal water in order to save nearly $50,000 in watering expenses annually. The Select Board hired an irrigation consulting firm in early 2022 to design a new system that relies on ground water and nearby wetlands. The construction documents and related construction estimates were complete in November 2022 and a request for construction funding was submitted to the Capital Asset Management Committee. Environmental permitting for the project will begin in February 2023.

This is just a small sampling of the goals completed in FY23 so far. You can view the entire update, including updates on on-going goals by clicking the link below.  The report also includes an update on all grants applied for in Fy23 and their outcome (if known). Tyngsborough staff are tremendously successful with grants and grant applications are an important part of our work.

Full Report: https://bit.ly/3ZnRoGq